How physical fitness benefits your mental health.
The majority of people if they were honest would admit they exercise/train for an aesthetic result, they want to look in the mirror and be happy with what they see back. However our brains/eyes can play horrible tricks on us and what we ‘see’ in the mirror can be hugely misinterpreted/exaggerated to be something we end up hating.
There are countless mental health benefits linked to exercise that are proven time and time again, when exercise releases endorphins it automatcially:
Improves your mood,
Reduces anxiety,
Reduces depression,
Increased focus,
Increased motivation,
Increased sleep quality.
My opinion on exercise is that it is something we should do and enjoy with the purpose of improving our quality of life and the longevity of our life. When you get older and start to get common illnesses, you don’t survive them because you had a 6 pack and eat chicken and broccoli every day, you have a better chance of surviving them because your vital organs are strong and healthy through a lifetime of exercise.
When I say it should be fun, it needs to be something you enjoy. It doesn’t have to just be running, lifting weights in a gym etc. Find something you enjoy doing alongside resistance training, whether that be playing a sport, hiking, climbing, there are so many things you can do to keep active you just need to find your passion.
Focus on exercising to be able to spend more quality time on this earth with your friends and family, kids and even grandkids, because trust me they don’t care what your body looks like. They will just want to spend as much time as they can with you.
My own personal journey, I trained incredibly hard to get a body I could be proud of, ironically the time I spent in the best shape of my life was also the worst time of my life in regards to a mental health state. I had never been more unhappy in myself even though I looked the best I ever did, this was because I was chasing a result I was never going to be happy with.
After reflection I found that if I were to focus on performance related goals such as running 5km in under 20minutes, squatting 1.5 times my body weight etc that I would subsequently become stronger and fitter. This made me feel very good about myself as I started to hit these goals and as a by-product my body shape began changing back to near the best shape I had been in previously, this is because as I got stronger my muscle mass increased.
The huge difference here is that I was enjoying my life again, enjoying the foods I enjoy rather than eating steamed chicken breast and broccoli everyday and trying to train 3 hours each day. The main point here is that I am proof of the second I started to focus on a health/performance goal I noticed a huge difference in how I felt about myself, how I saw myself and how I actually looked too.
If you are unsure and need some help with where to start or what to do, why not just drop me a message using the link below.